In a major leap towards the future of work, Goldman Sachs is testing a new kind of employee — one that isn’t human. The Wall Street giant is exploring how an AI software engineer, named Devin, can work alongside its 12,000 human developers.
Devin was created by Cognition, an artificial intelligence startup that made waves last year when it claimed to have built the world’s first autonomous AI software engineer. Now, Goldman Sachs is preparing to bring Devin into its workforce, marking a bold move in the rapidly changing world of AI adoption.
“We’re going to start using Devin like a new employee,” said Marco Argenti, Goldman’s Chief Information Officer, in an interview with CNBC. “At first, we’ll use hundreds of them — maybe even thousands — depending on how useful they become.”
What Is Devin, the AI Engineer?
Devin can work like a full-stack software developer. That means it can build apps and complete complex programming tasks with little human help. Demo videos released by Cognition showed Devin performing multi-step coding jobs — all on its own.
Unlike earlier AI tools that just helped with emails or summaries, agentic AI like Devin can do actual technical work. It’s a big shift from AI as an assistant to AI as a digital worker.
This move comes as corporations across industries ramp up AI use. In 2023, companies like JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley introduced AI assistants based on OpenAI’s models. Now, Wall Street is entering a new phase, using AI to automate more complex jobs.
Big tech firms like Microsoft and Alphabet have said that AI already writes about 30% of their code. Meanwhile, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed that AI does up to 50% of their workload.
At Goldman Sachs, Argenti believes this next-level AI could boost developer productivity by up to four times — far beyond the gains seen with older AI tools.
AI to Do the Boring Coding Work
Devin will work under human supervision, handling time-consuming tasks like updating old code to newer programming languages — a chore many engineers find tedious.
The AI tool was built by Cognition Labs, a startup founded in late 2023 by top engineers and competitive programmers. Cognition is now valued at nearly $4 billion, with backers including Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, co-founders of Palantir.
Goldman Sachs is the first major bank to try Devin, according to Cognition. While Goldman doesn’t own a stake in the startup, the partnership is being closely watched by the financial and tech worlds.
What AI Means for Jobs on Wall Street
The rise of AI in banking raises questions about the future of jobs. Analysts predict that up to 200,000 banking jobs could disappear in the next 3 to 5 years due to AI, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
But Argenti says this isn’t about replacing humans — it’s about creating a “hybrid workforce.” In this vision, humans and AI will work together. Developers will need to translate real-world problems into prompts and then manage the AI’s work.
“This is about AI and people working side by side,” said Argenti. “Engineers will need to guide and supervise these tools just like they would with a junior team member.”
He also suggested that more roles could be automated in the near future — not just software developers. AI is getting smarter, and reinforcement learning (how AI trains itself) is helping models like Devin become nearly as good as human coders.
“This is going to be a major proof point,” Argenti added, hinting that AI tools like Devin could expand into many other parts of the business soon.
As AI reshapes the workplace, Goldman Sachs is taking an early lead — not just by using AI, but by treating it as part of the team.